A nail is 0.1875 inches thick. What is its thickness as a fraction?
3 Answers
Thickness of the nail as a fraction is
Explanation:
As the nail is
The prime factors of numerator and denominator are
or
=
Hence, its thickness as a fraction is
Explanation:
One way to find the fraction is as follows:
- Note that the fraction ends with a digit
#5# , so is half of something simpler. So multiply by#2# :#2xx0.1875 = 0.375#
* The resulting decimal also ends with
#2xx0.375 = 0.75#
* This still ends with
#2xx0.75 = 1.5#
* Finally we get an integer by doubling again:
#2xx1.5 = 3#
Looking back, notice that we have multiplied by
#0.1875 = 3/16#
Footnote
If doubling had not eventually resulted in an integer, it would still make the problem simpler.
For example, if we were given
#0.01875 = 3/10*1/16 = 3/160#
Explanation:
A decimal can be written as a fraction with a power of 10 in the denominator.
Note that a number is divisible by 25 if the last 2 digits are
Also that a number is divisible by 125 if the last 3 digits are
However, let's simplify using 25.